Old-fashioned Nixie tubes are beautiful, but driving them in a circuit can be complicated since they often require voltages as high as 250V DC. The ArduiNIX board for Arduino makes it easy to add standard clock functions to your next project. Just be sure to design an enclosure that will keep those high voltages safe. I tested mine with various Nixie tubes I had in my studio, but I’m still looking for that perfect set to build the ultimate clock.

– the Arduinix board
– a display board (4 and 6 digit versions are currently offered)
– IN-17 nixie tubes for the display. I bought a lot of 8 via eBay but their availability at reasonable prices is intermittent. Sometimes you can buy them from the Arduinix site when they have them in stock.
– two ribbon cables to connect those two boards – you’ll have to fab ‘em yourself.
– the code for 4 and 6 digit clocks are available in the arduinix forums

I’m in the process of putting one of these together, a fun little project.

Another option I just found is SmartNixie, http://www.tayloredge.com/storefront/SmartNixie/index.html The Nixie tubes each have their own individual board which can then be connected to a micro-controller via I2C. This is much more flexible than the ArduiNIX but can end up costing more depending on the number of nixies you want to have.

Both seem great for hooking up Nixies to an Arduino. The SmartNixie of course is not limited to the Arduino … Raspberry Pi anyone?